Plenary Session: European Forest Strategy - The Way Forward

European Forest Strategy - The Way Forward (A9-0154/2020 - Petri Sarvamaa)

I voted against this report by the AGRI Commission for contradicting the environmental goals of the European Forest Strategy and also the position recently adopted by the Parliament itself in the report on "EU Action to Protect and Restore the World's Forests”.

Despite the votes against from the Greens/EFA members, the report was approved, and it was decided that the Parliament's final position is that forests managed for commercial purposes are the only forests of value, and those that best protect the climate and forest health. In addition, it further encourages the use of forest biomass for energy production in the EU, portraying it as positive for combating climate change. Among other negative aspects, the approved report does little to safeguard forests and is excessively focused on the so-called Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), a non-binding concept developed by foresters and that does not protect biodiversity.

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